<p>So I was accepted to a school that I really like, but is more like a safety. I haven't received any other decisions yet, and will get most around mid-december. Unfortunately, they wants a decision from me by Dec. 4th. I don't think that I can make this decision without knowing where else I'm in (or not in :(). My dad says that I should pay the deposit ($200-$300, I forget exactly how much), and just back out if I get in to another I like better... I don't really like this idea, because it seems pretty flakey to back out when I've given my word, and I don't want to lose that much money if I don't go. Of course, I don't want to back out and then possibly end up with no college at all. What is the point of a safety if I reject it before I know my decisions at the other colleges? What should I do? I'm assuming that I'm not the only one who has ever been in this position. If I ask for a delay period, do you think that I'd get one? Asking for that seems sort-of lame to me also (I don't want them to think that I view them as my last choice or anything, because I really do like them). Any suggestions?</p>
<p>There are different types of deposits: enrollment deposits, where you are accepting the offer of admission, and housing deposits, which merely hold a spot for you in the housing and are usually refundable. Let's take a look at some of the differences.</p>
<p>First, I am assuming that this is a college in the U.S., not another country. Every reputable college in the U.S. is a member of the National Association of College Admissions Counseling (NACAC), and, as such, agrees to abide by the NACAC Standards of Good Practice. Colleges in other countries aren't bound by those rules, however.</p>
<p>Again, assuming that this is a US College, according to those NACAC rules, unless you have applied Early Decision, a college MUST give you until May 1, the National Candidate's Reply Date, to respond to any offers of admission and scholarships and to submit an ENROLLMENT deposit and an Intent To Enroll form (a form that says, "Yes, I am accepting this offer of admission"). </p>
<p>If the school has requested that you reply or send in an enrollment deposit before then (which some do), they MUST grant you an extension until May 1 if you request one. So, you absolutely positively do NOT need to send in an enrollment deposit now - in fact, if you do, you technically must withdraw all of your other applications at the same time because you have already accepted an offer from the school in question. Failing to do so after you have deposited at one school could result in you having your offer of admission rescinded at that school or even potentially risk your acceptances at the other schools if they get wind that you have already agreed to attend the first school (and these things do sometimes get out). You don't want to risk that!</p>
<p>So, contact the school, ask for an extension, cite those NACAC rules and the National Candidate's Reply Date, and then don't worry about it. You will not be penalized for waiting until all your offers are on the table. It is also not "lame" to request that the college honor your rights as an applicant - it is the SMART and CORRECT thing to do if you are not ready to make your final choice at this time.</p>
<p>Again, the exception is if you applied through a BINDING EARLY DECISION program. In that case, you agreed to withdraw all other applications and send in your enrollment deposit as soon as you were admitted. If you didn't apply ED, however, this does NOT apply.</p>
<p>Now, if the school is asking for a HOUSING deposit at this point, that is a different story - some schools do ask for early housing deposits to secure a spot in housing in case you decide to attend. That is different than sending in an ENROLLMENT deposit which is basically the same as saying "I will attend." If it is a HOUSING deposit only (a few schools try to bundle the housing and enrollment deposits together - if so, the rules above apply), before sending it, check with the school and ask if the deposit will be REFUNDABLE before sending it, however. </p>
<p>For details on all of the above, go to NACAC</a> NACAC Policies and Statements and read both the NACAC Statement of Principles of Good Practice and the Student's Rights & Responsibilities materials. It is all spelled out very clearly there. In fact, I recommend that ALL of my students read the SR&R before applying anywhere so they know what is expected of them, and can respond to unreasonable requests from college correctly. You might want to print it out and share it with your father as well, and feel free to have him contact me if he has further questions.</p>
<p>enrollment deposit . . . $300,
advice from carolyn . . . priceless.</p>
<p>Carolyn, thanks for being so generous to students, for the ump-teenth time, with your time and expertise!</p>
<p>Railorain, you are talking about fall 2008 admissions, aren't you, and not January admissions?</p>
<p>Ack, okay, I should clarify that I am a January transfer.</p>
<p>And it is a non-refundable enrollment fee. :/</p>
<p>When do you expect your other offers? With January around the corner, they must be coming up.</p>
<p>It sounds like you have been admitted under a rolling admissions university. I see no ethical issue with sending in your deposit and later turning down their offer of admission if it is in your best interest.</p>
<p>By not sending in your deposit the admissions slot they offered you will be filled by a subsequent applicant.</p>
<p>Even if you loose the deposit, that is a small price to pay considering the bigger picture.</p>
<p>And as Carolyn noted, binding ED is another animal altogether. There you are ethically bound by the ED admission.</p>
<p>Ah, yes, I believe that they are a rolling admissions college. I sent my app at the same time as the others though. </p>
<p>Most should arrive in mid-december, and one by monday.</p>
<p>DD had an early acceptance to an OOS public two years ago. They also asked for an enrollment deposit immediately. I politely called them and told them that DD was waiting to hear about financial aid and possibly other offers. I also politely mentioned that I thought that May 1 was the "official" date. They agreed and that was that. NOW...we did send in a housing deposit (refunded) because without that, she would not have been in the queue for housing. In the end, she did not attend this school.</p>
<p>Wish you'd mentioned the most important part of the story: that you're a transfer looking at starting in January. That changes the equation. </p>
<p>However, it still would not be unreasonable to contact the college in question, explain that you are still waiting for a few other decisions, and ask for a reasonable extenstion to decide before committing. By reasonable, I mean you will be deciding in the next two weeks or so, not the day before you're supposed to start in January.</p>
<p>Since the deposit is non-refundable, I'd call before throwing $300 out the window at a school I may not end up attending. Unless they are a school that takes hundreds of transfers each semester, they probably have a bit of space built into their transfer admissions process and should be willing to give you another week or two.</p>
<p>So, call, ask, see what they say. The worst they can say is no.</p>
<p>Thank you carolyn for your very clear explanation of this part of the process. As the parent of a Jr. just starting her search, this information is one of the many things we need to know.</p>
<p>I have the same dilemma, except the schools that have accepted me so far are all reaches, so I can't just give them up easily. Still waiting to hear from 2 other reaches. I can't afford the deposits, so I'm trying to negotiate something with the admissions/financial aid offices.</p>
<p>I think that Carolyn's suggestion is the best you can do unless you want to put out the money for the deposits. Now as far as housing goes, I would recommend putting down the money ASAP for that if there is limited housing available or if you can lower your chances of living in outer Siberia. You do need to talk to the housing dept about that because as a mid year transfer that may be all that is left anyways.</p>
<p>Carolyn,
Also have a Jr and just starting this process. Thanks for the info.</p>
<p>DS' hit rate asking for extensions on transfer replies was about 50/50 on getting the extension vs. not. Same situation as the OP - early replies from rolling safer schools while waiting to hear from the others. </p>
<p>The other alternative is to call the schools you are waiting on to see if they have made a decision and just not communicated with you yet. Or can make the decision more quickly under the circumstances. Sometimes this seems scary to ask, but I don't think you need to worry that they will hold it against you (after all you are telling them that someone else wants you ;) ), and the person you catch on the phone is not likely a decision-maker anyway. DS' experience is that the most selective schools would not speed up their timelines, but at least one school (the one he is at) had made the decision and it just hadn't gotten here yet.</p>
<p>The transfer time lines are much foggier than with freshman admissions, as there really isn't much commonality in decision dates/desired reply dates.</p>
<p>If they won't grant the extension, then the $200-300 isn't too much of a price to pay.</p>
<p>IMO it is not flakey to back out in this situation, when you are asked to make a decision before you have all the information in front of you. Not that they are asking something inappropriate... January is not that far off. But some transfer admissions decisions come very late (as you are experiencing).</p>
<p>I agree with Jmmom. When my D was transfering, she had gotten an acceptance from her second choice school with a two week turnaround, but had not heard back from the first choice school. As the deadline neared, we called the first choice (actually I did as she was away at school and no cell back in those days) and they couldn't have been nicer. They checked if the decision had been made, and came back with a yes answer. She was able to turn down the second choice school knowing that the other acceptance was in the mail. No one seemed to be surprised by the inquiry; I suspect it's fairly common in transfer admissions.</p>
<p>S2 was accepted to one of our rolling admissions state u's a few weeks ago.
The packet that came with the letter said </p>
<p>"To accept your enrollment at ABC University, return the completed form along with a $30 non-refundable enrollment deposit" then...</p>
<p>"Within the next few weeks you will be getting enrollment instructions in the mail. Look for a packet containing mediacl history, immunization, and insurance coverage forms, a Campus Living information request form, and additional information."</p>
<p>I wasn't sure if I should send it or not since it is so early (he will hear from other app. in Dec) so called the admissions office. They said we had until May 1 but that sending the form and the $30 was not binding in any way. We went ahead and sent it in to be sure we got all the info. mentioned above (esp. housing) sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>
I agree.</p>
<p>PackMom's experience might be a little more uncommon. Some transfer schools state explicitly that the initial deposit is refundable and non-binding. But not all are that way. Some even encourage acceptees to send in the deposit to secure a housing spot (because upperclass housing is scarces) before they have firmly decided to matriculate. This, again, is not very common.</p>
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<p>So it's not like freshman admissions where an application in the reject pile could be resurrected at the last minute and another in the accept pile rejected/waitlisted? I ask because in transfer admissions, seemingly arbitrary decisions are still made where highly qualified applicants are denied. How do they know whom they want? What if they overaccept and have to reduce their number of offers at the very end?</p>
<p>I can't answer those questions, but my understanding was that their transfer acceptance rate was similar to their freshman acceptance rate, so I conclude they pretty much had it down to a science (as they seem to do for frosh acceptance.) We just knew that her name was in the acceptance pile, and they seemed happy to tell us.</p>